A New Niece
by BlueandBrownEyes
Summary: Taking care of a baby without a father can be hard, but having six uncles definitely helps.
1. Benjamin

Benjamin nearly collapsed onto his bed when he returned to the barn. Their cow Bessie had given birth just a couple of hours ago and things got complicated while she was in labor. There were a few scary moments where Ben didn't think that the little calf was gonna make it. All of the brothers came to help and Milly and the girls came too when things got too hectic. The little calf was finally born during the evening. They all did their best to make sure he was warm and that Bessie was feeding him enough. Now that Bessie and the calf were finally settled everyone was exhausted and ready to get some rest. Well, everyone except for little Hannah. She just kept screaming so loud that Ben was sure that the whole town could hear her.

"She's sure gotta pair of lungs," Caleb said.

"Do you think we should go try and help?" Gideon asked.

"I doubt that we'd be much help," Frank replied.

"Well, I don't know about that," Ben said. "I'll go down to the house and see if I can do anything."

"Good luck," he heard Dan mumble as he closed the door.

It had been a long time since Benjamin took care of any babies, but he used to help Ma take care of his brothers. Adam would be out with Pa in the field and sometimes Ma would get real busy with all the cooking and cleaning so Ben had to keep all of his brothers in check. He probably had the most experience out of all of his brothers when it came to babies. He was no expert, but if he could help in anyway then he was willing to try it.

Ben knocked on the door softly, just in case any of the girls were sleeping. But he couldn't imagine any of them could sleep with Hannah's crying.

"I'm so sorry, Benjamin," Milly said when she opened the door. "Can you hear her from the barn?" Milly was holding Hannah in her arms and was trying to get her to go to sleep, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Yeah," Ben said. "I thought that maybe I could try and help. Or at least give you a break."

"I don't know what to do," said Milly. "I tried feeding her, bathing her, the girls and I even tried singing to her but she just won't stop crying."

Ben started pacing around the room, trying to think of some way to help. Ma would sing to Gideon when he started crying but it doesn't look like singing is enough to calm Hannah. Then he looked up and saw his old guitar in the corner of the room. It had been months since he had been able to play it. Mainly because Milly wouldn't let him go in the house during the winter. She had finally let them see the girls but there were still strict rules that the brothers had to follow. But tonight, all rules were thrown out the window.

"Let me try something real quick," Ben said as he picked up his guitar. He plucked the strings with his fingers, trying to remember the tune that his mother sang many years ago. He closed his eyes and the memory washed over him like a wave crashing on the shore. He was so lost in the song that he didn't realize that Hannah had stopped crying or that the other girls had come down to hear the lullaby. When Ben finished the song he opened his eyes and was a little shocked to find seven pairs of eyes staring back at him. Martha, Liza, and Sarah also looked surprised. They probably never thought that Ben knew how to play. Ruth and Alice just looked relieved that Hannah had finally fallen asleep. Dorcas was giving him that smile that always made his knees go weak.

"You boys are always surprising me," Milly said warmly. "I'm gonna go put her to bed before she wakes up again." She began to walk up the stairs before turning around again. "Thank you, Benjamin."

"No problem, Milly," Ben replied. The other girls began to follow Milly up the stairs while Ben placed his guitar back in the corner of the room.

"Do you know any other songs?" Dorcas asked after everyone else had gone back upstairs.

"I know a few songs," Ben said.

"You'll have to play them for me some time," Dorcas said as she walked back up to the bedroom.

"I'll play whatever you want," he said and began to walk towards the door. "Goodnight Dorcas."

"Goodnight Benjamin."

Ben walked back to the barn and nearly laughed when he saw his brothers' faces.

"How on earth did you get her to fall asleep?" Ephraim asked.

"Well," Ben smiled as he lied down. "Maybe she just likes me the most. Goodnight, boys." He fell asleep with a smile on his face. Maybe he knew more about babies then he originally thought.


	2. Caleb

"How's she looking, Ben?" Caleb asked.

"Not too good," he replied.

"Come on, Bessie," Caleb said. "The sooner you get this little calf out the better it'll be for everyone." Bessie simply glared back at him.

"How long has she been in labor?" Gideon asked.

"Too long," Ben said as he stood up. "We're gonna need more towels."

"I'll go get them," Caleb said and hurried up to the house.

"Has the calf been born yet?" Milly asked when she opened the door. Caleb walked in and saw that most of the girls were in the living room with Milly. But he didn't see Ruth with them and he made his heart sink a little.

"No, not yet. I was wondering if you had any more towels."

"Here, we'll get them," Alice said as she and Sarah grabbed as many towels as they could.

"Do you think they need any help?" Liza asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure that Ben could use a break," Caleb said. "He's been with her for a while now." She nodded and the girls hurried out of the house and headed down to the barn. Caleb saw that Milly began to follow them before she stopped herself and looked over at Hannah's crib. "You can go too if you want Milly. I can watch Hannah for you."

"Are you sure?" Milly said. She was still protective over Hannah and even though she trusted Caleb she still wasn't sure if she was ready to leave her yet.

"I'm positive," Caleb said. "Also, you've been stuck in this house for a while now. You could probably use a break too."

"Alright," Milly said as she headed towards the door. "But I'm only going for a few minutes. I'll be back before you even know I'm gone." Caleb walked over to the crib and looked down at his niece.

"Hi there, Hannah," he said. Hannah just pouted at him. "Now, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you remember your Uncle Caleb?"

She continued to pout at him as if she was saying, "You're not my ma."

"You know, Frank used to make that exact same face when he was a baby. He wasn't a very nice baby. He would scream and cry all the time. Adam said that he started crying when he heard his name for the first time." Caleb chuckled. "Luckily, you got a real pretty name so you should thank Milly for that."

Hannah suddenly perked up when she hear her mother's name.

"Don't worry, your ma will be right back. And your pa…" Caleb stopped for a few moments. "Well, he's coming back as soon as he can. I know he is."

The door suddenly opened and Ruth walked in carrying some wood logs. She was returning from the woodpile so she could prepare tonight's supper.

"Oh, hello Caleb," she said softly. "Where is everyone?"

"They're out at the barn trying to help Bessie," he replied. "The girls said they wanted to help so I'm watching Hannah."

"I can take her if you want," Ruth said.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't mind," she said. "Also, I don't think I'd be very much help in the barn. I don't know very much about cattle or farming."

"Really?"

"I spent most of my life in the city. I only moved to Oregon a few years ago after my parents died of small pox. I moved in with my uncle and have been here ever since," she said sadly. As she was talking, Caleb suddenly realized that he didn't know very much about Ruth. And now he wanted to know everything that he possible could.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," he said.

"That's alright," she said. "I just don't know as much as some of the other girls. I've learned a lot, though. And I'm a pretty good cook so that's how I can help out."

"You're a wonderful cook," Caleb said. "Even better than Milly. Although don't tell her I said that."

"It'll be our secret then," Ruth smiled at him as her cheeks turned pink.

Suddenly they saw that Hannah was getting fussy again. "I'll go get Milly," Caleb said. "It was nice to talk to you."

"You too," she said.

Caleb hurried back down to the barn and when he walked in he saw a little calf struggling to get to his feet.

"That's my girl!" Caleb said as he patted Bessie on the head. "I knew you could do it."

"Poor little thing," Milly said. "His legs were all twisted up. Thank you for watching Hannah for me." The girls headed back to the house while the boys began to clean up the house.

"How was Hannah?" Gideon asked. "You were with her for a while."

"Was I? I didn't even notice," Caleb said. He wasn't gonna tell his brothers that he spent most of his time talking to Ruth. He would never hear the end of it. He decided to stay quiet. It was just like Ruth had said. It'll be their secret.


	3. Daniel

Daniel had been out chopping wood for so long that his fingers were starting to go numb. But he didn't mind it too much. That was something he learned from Pa. He would always say, "Complaining isn't gonna change anything. You're gonna have to work if you wanna see a difference." Daniel had been dealing with the cold for his entire life and there was nothing he could do that would change it. He would just have to make it through the winter. So he just kept chopping wood. An idea had been forming in his head for a while now. Ever since he learned that Milly was having a baby. It would take a lot of work, but he was more than willing to put in the effort.

"Hey Dan," Ephraim said as he walked over to his brother. "What are you doing?"

"Chopping wood," Dan said as he swung his axe at the log.

"You've been chopping wood for the entire day. We've got plenty for the fire," Ephraim said.

"It's not for the fire."

"Well what's if for, then?" Ephraim asked.

"I wanna make a crib for the baby," Dan said. "We haven't used that old one since Gideon was a baby and it's probably rotting as we speak."

"Do you need any help?"

"If you don't mind," Dan said. He knew how busy everyone was right now. Especially when the weather was this bad. The last thing Dan wanted to do was cause more problems by asking for help. But he wanted to do something nice for Milly. He thought that maybe this could be a way for him to apologize for what he and his brothers did. And that baby should have a nice, new crib. Not something that's been wasting away in the attic for years.

"I don't mind at all," Ephraim said. "I think it's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll take less time if there's two of us. I'm too busy right now but I can help you tomorrow. We could make some toys for the baby, too. I bet those old ones are also falling apart."

"I didn't even think about the toys. That's a real good idea."

"I got to get back to my chores but I'll go tell everyone the plan," Ephraim said as he headed back towards the barn. "Maybe they'll have some ideas of what we could make."

So Daniel went back to chopping wood. It was boring and tedious but if he could just finish a few more logs, then he should have enough for a crib and for some toys. It was nearly nighttime when he was finally finished and he was getting ready to go back to the barn when he saw Martha walking towards him. Dan became a little concerned. The last time he saw her she poured cold water on his head. He had spent the rest of the day shivering until Milly had given him some extra clothes. So he was slightly shocked when she placed a cup of coffee into his freezing hands.

"You looked cold," she said quickly.

"I…thank you," Dan replied. He wasn't really sure what else to say. He took a long sip and sighed as the warmth spread through him. "It's delicious." He saw Martha give him a quick smile.

"Well you should head back soon or you're gonna get sick," she said.

"I was just finishing up," Dan said. "It was nice to see you."

Martha looked at him like she was trying to figure out what to say to him. "You, too," she finally said before heading back to the house.

Daniel walked back to the barn with his coffee and thinking about what he could do to make things right with Martha. But his thoughts changed when he walked in the barn and heard his brothers chatting excitedly.

"Dan," Gideon said. "Ephraim told us your idea and we want to help you,"

"Yeah and we thought that we could surprise Milly when everything is done." Caleb said.

Dan couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since he and his brothers had been excited about something. With Adam leaving and being forced to live in the barn, they were mainly just trying to make it through the winter. But now they were working towards something together. Dan knew that waiting for spring would be hard, but now he had something worth waiting for.


	4. Ephraim

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for the late update. Work and classes have been making it hard to find free time. But I promise that I am working on this story. Also thank you for the lovely reviews. They mean so much to me.**

There was a sigh of relief when spring finally arrived. There had been times when everyone thought that the snow was never going to end. But when the sun finally peaked through the clouds, it felt like everyone could finally relax. Well, almost everyone.

Milly continued to work and work even though she was about to have a baby. The girls begged her to slow down and take a break, but she would just say, "There's no time for that right now."

Luckily, the girls devised a plan. They decided that each day one of them would stay with Milly in case something were to happen. The plan worked for a while. Sometimes the boys would even join them. But it was getting harder to stay inside. The weather was just so nice and everyone just wanted to spend the day out in the sun. But someone needed to stay with Milly.

"I'll stay with her," Ephraim told Dan when he returned from the field one day. He had spent most of the morning with Liza, dancing and running with her through the flowers. She made him feel like a child again. But Ephraim knew that Dan and Martha were with Milly and that they were both itching to go outside.

"Are you sure?" Dan asked.

"Yeah I'm sure," he replied.

Ephraim didn't mind staying inside with Milly. He really enjoyed spending time with her. She would always tell him stories of the books she read when she was younger. He could tell how much she enjoyed reading and telling stories. It reminded of some of the stories Ma told him when he was little.

"Hello Ephraim," Milly said when she saw him. "Where's Liza?"

"She's wanted to go see the lambs. They're just starting to walk on their own."

"You know, you don't have to spend all day cooped up with me. I can handle myself."

"I know that," Ephraim said. "I just didn't want you to be by yourself."

"Well, thank you," Milly said as she looked out the window. "How's the weather outside. It looks so nice."

"It's wonderful," Ephraim said. "You should come and sit out on the porch."

"Maybe later. I've got too much to do right now."

"Come on, Milly." Ephraim said. "Why don't you take a small break? We'll sit out on the porch for a few minutes."

Milly sighed but followed him outside. She slowly sat down in the rocking chair on the porch and looked out into the field. Ephraim couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she looked calmer. It was like this was the first time in a long time where she was able to take a moment just for herself. She didn't have to worry about the brothers or the girls or even the baby. She could just sit in the sun, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"You were right," she said after a while. "The weather is wonderful. It feels like spring has finally arrived." Ephraim simply nodded back.

"Well, I better head back inside," Milly said. "Those clothes aren't gonna fold themselves."

"Alright," Ephraim said. "But remember to take a break once a while."

"I will," she said and walked back into the house.

Ephraim stayed outside for a few more moments. He wondered if Liza would come to the house soon. She told him that she would meet him after she saw the lambs. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts about her that he almost didn't hear a shout coming from the house. He hurried inside and saw Milly hunched over with her hands around her swollen belly.

"The baby," she gasped. "The baby's coming."

"What?" Ephraim said. He was so shocked that he just stared at her for a few moments. Of course, the baby would come when he was the only one around. He snapped out of it when he heard Milly yell in pain again. He did the only thing he could think of and picked her up as carefully as he could. He could feel her digging her nails into his shoulders as he carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"I'm gonna go get everyone," he said as he placed her on the bed. "I'll be real quick. You won't even know that I'm gone." She just nodded at him. Ephraim didn't know much about pregnancies, but he knew they were painful. So he ran down the steps as quickly as he could. He nearly stumbled out of the house looking around for any of his brothers or the girls. He was so scared and excited thinking about Milly having the baby. The thought of him being an uncle made him smile. But he needed to find everyone so that Milly wouldn't be alone.

He finally saw them all out in the field and began to run towards them. But he realized that it would take too long to get to them. So even though he was out breath, he shouted as loud as possible.

"Frank! Dan! Ben! Caleb! Everybody! Milly's having her baby!"


	5. Frank

**Author's Note: I wish I had a better excuse for not updating since the summer, but it was really a combination of writer's block and school. But I've finally got this chapter done and hopefully I can finally finish this story. Thanks for sticking with it.**

"How come you haven't held Hannah yet?" Sarah asked.

"What?" Frank lifted his head up. He had been whittling a piece of wood that he found earlier while Sarah was standing by Hannah's crib. Milly had gone upstairs to take a nap and Sarah said that she would stay inside and watch Hannah. Frank decided to join her as well. There was never any time for them to be alone together anymore. He was either too busy doing chores or there were too many people around. The last time the two of them were alone he had tried to kiss her again, but before he had the chance Dorcas had walked in on them and she still hasn't let them hear the end of it yet.

There was another reason why he wanted to be alone with her. But he didn't want to think about it too much. The snow had almost completely melted and that meant that the pass would open and the girls would have to go back to town soon. He knew how angry the town people were after the brothers took away the girls. And they have had all winter to prepare when the pass finally opened again. The Ponitpees would probably never be allowed back into town again. They might take pity on Milly, but there was no way Frank or any of his brothers could go back. And that would mean that he would never see Sarah again. She would probably go right back to her family and right back to Carl. It made his stomach churn when he thought about that.

"I've seen all of your brothers hold her. Even Gideon," she said. "But I've never seen you hold her."

"Oh…well…it's just," Frank felt his cheeks heat up.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"I've never really held a baby before," Frank said. "I mean I've held some of the farm animals when they were little. You should have seen how small Bessie was when she was born. But I've never held a human baby before. I was too little when Gideon was born and so I never really had the chance to learn."

Frank didn't really remember very much about Gideon when he was a baby. But he did remember Ma telling him, "Now Frank, this is your baby brother. He's real little and he'll need a lot of help. So I'll need your help when things get too hectic around here." Frank also remembered that he and Gideon were picked on the most when they were little. He remembered that vividly. They were the two youngest and the two smallest so that meant the older Pontipee brothers could get away with pretty much anything and they could never fight back. Frank and Gideon had to deal with this for years until one day Ben was taunting Gideon and took one of his toys. Something inside of Frank snapped and the next thing he remembered was Adam and Caleb pulling him off of Ben. That was the day the Pontipee family learned that Frank was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Well, what if I taught you?" she asked.

"What?" Frank stopped whittling and looked at her again.

"What if I taught you how to hold a baby?" Frank looked even more confused than before. "I promise, it's not hard. And you're gonna have to hold her at some point. It'll be easier when she's still small and not climbing on everything." Sarah said as she leaned down and picked Hannah up from her crib.

"Wait, I don't wanna wake her up or anything," Frank said.

"Don't worry. It'll be easier when she's sleeping since she won't be moving around as much."

Sarah slowly walked over to the couch where Frank was sitting. "Here, put your arms out," she said as she placed Hannah into his arms.

Frank sat there not moving a muscle, he was sure that he was gonna mess up and ruin everything. "Calm down," Sarah giggled. "She's not a piece of glass."

"It's just…I don't wanna hurt her," Frank said softly as he looked down at his niece. She was just so small. He looked back at Sarah and saw that she was giving him a funny look. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"I don't think you're half as mean as everyone says you are," she said with a small smile.

"Well, I don't think you're half as shy as everyone says you are," Frank replied. He saw her blush as she walked over and sat down next to him. He started to get a strange feeling in his chest, thinking about the two of them sitting together while holding a baby. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he felt movement in his arms. He looked down and saw Hannah wide awake and staring right back at him. Frank tensed up again for a few moments, thinking that he did something wrong. But Hannah didn't look hurt or upset so he relaxed again.

"It looks like you're doing a pretty good job," Sarah said.

"Well, that's only because I had a real good teacher," he replied. She smiled at him again and his heart skipped a beat.

"Sarah," he said after a few minutes. "Do you like it here?"

"I..." She paused, trying to find the right words. "Yes, I do."

"I know that I messed up everything and I know that you miss your family. But if you would want to stay here. Then you're always welcomed."

"I don't know, Frank," she said after a few moments. "Part of me wants to stay, but I just don't know what's going to happen once the pass opens."

She placed her head on his shoulder and neither of them said anything after that. She was right, they didn't know what would happen. They might not see each other ever again after this. But for right now they were together and that was more than enough for Frank.


	6. Gideon

"Milly!" Gideon shouted as he knocked on the door. "Milly, open up!" He had been trying to talk to her all day but he could never catch her at the right time. It was getting dark and so he wanted to talk to her before it got too cold. He brought his hand up to knock on the door again when it suddenly opened and was shocked to see Alice on the other side of the doorway.

"What is it, Gideon?" she asked, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Oh…Alice…hi!" He said quickly. For a few moments he completely forgot why he came to the house in the place. "I…uh…I just wanted to talk to Milly, that's all."

"Well," Alice said quickly. "She's pretty tired right now. Maybe you should come back tomorrow." She tried to close the door but Gideon stopped it with his hand.

"Is she ill?" he asked.

"What?"

"That's why I wanted to come over and see her," he said. "Recently she's been looking really pale and it looked like she was gonna be sick yesterday morning. I just wanted to check and see if she's alright. I'd feel real bad if she's been cooking and cleaning for us while being sick."

Alice stared at him for a few minutes like she was trying to figure out what to say. "You mean…You mean she hasn't told you yet?"

"Told me what?"

"Oh, I thought she was going to tell you yesterday!" Alice said.

"Tell me what?" Gideon asked again.

"Well, I shouldn't be the one to give the news. Milly should be the one to tell you and your brothers. I'll go see if she's feeling better. Wait right here."

And she closed the door before he could get another word out. Now he felt even more confused than before. What was Alice talking about? What was Milly supposed to tell him? And why did Alice look so excited before she ran off to get Milly?

A few minutes later Milly opened the door and looked up at Gideon.

"Milly!" Gideon said. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I was just wondering if you've been feeling alright lately. I was scared that you were getting sick."

"I'm alright, Gideon," she said softly. "And I should have told you earlier. I just couldn't find the right words."

"What are you talking about, Milly?" he asked.

"Gideon, I'm gonna have a baby," she said with a small smile.

"What…I…I," Gideon tried to say something but he couldn't seem to get the right words out.

"I know," Milly said. "That's how I felt too when I found out." Gideon continued to stare at her. "Gideon? Say something, please."

"I gotta go tell Adam!" Gideon nearly shouted and he ran back towards the barn. He could hear Milly yelling at him from behind but he just ran faster. He nearly crashed through the doors of the barn and tried to get everything he needed for the ride.

"What are you doing, Gid?" Ben asked.

"I gotta go get Adam!" Gideon said as grabbed his saddle.

"Right now?" Caleb said. "It's freezing out there Gideon. And you know how bad the wolves are."

"I don't care! He needs to know!"

"Know what?" Frank asked right before Milly ran through the barn doors.

"Gideon, stop it!" she yelled at him. Gideon looked around and realized his brothers had no idea what he and Milly were talking about.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked.

"I'm…I'm pregnant," Milly said. All of Gideon's brothers jumped to their feet.

"Pregnant?"

"How long have you known?"

"When is the baby coming?"

"Boys, calm down," Milly said. "Yes, I am pregnant. I've known for a few weeks and the baby will come sometime in the spring."

"You see," Gideon said not paying attention to anyone else. "We gotta go tell Adam!"

"No!" Milly shouted suddenly. "I am not losing anyone else!"

Gideon looked up at Milly when he heard her outburst. His brother stared at her too. Gideon could now see the tears on Milly's face. She turned around and wiped them away as fast as she could.

"Milly, are you alright?" Ephraim asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," she said a little too quickly. "Gideon, promise me you won't leave."

"But…"

"Please," she said softly.

"Alright," Gideon said after a few minutes. "I'll stay."

"Thank you," Milly said. "Now it's getting late. You all should get ready for bed. Goodnight." She turned around and walked briskly out of the barn. Gideon placed his saddle on the ground, sat down on his cot, and placed his head in his hands. He wasn't sure why he was so emotional over this.

"Are you alright, Gid," Frank asked.

"Adam should know about the baby," Gideon mumbled. "No one should grow up without a father."

"You miss Pa, don't you?" Ben asked.

"I barely even remember him," Gideon said quietly.

"Well, he was real tall. Even taller than Adam." Ben said.

"Really?" Gideon asked. Ben nodded back at him.

"And he was real strong too," Caleb added. "He was as strong as an ox."

"He never complained." Dan said. "It didn't matter how tired or how cold he was. If there was work to do then he would get it done."

"He loved to hunt," said Ephraim. "And he was real good at it. I don't think I ever saw him waste a bullet."

"I don't remember too much about him," Frank said. "But I do remember he used to pick me up and swing me around when I was real little. It felt like I was flying."

Gideon was overwhelmed with the new memories about his father. No one talked too much about him after he died and hearing this made him happy for the first time in a while. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," Ben said. "And don't worry, we'll make sure Adam knows. It just might take some time before he finds out."

The brothers started to get ready for bed but Gideon's mind was still racing. He thought about Adam being alone in that cabin. He thought about Milly trying to take care of six girls with a baby on the way. He also thought about Alice and how he could try to make things right with her. He lied down on his cot and pulled his blanket over him.

"I'm gonna be an uncle," he said to himself and he fell asleep smiling.

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed this story. I know I've said it before but it really means a lot to me. This story started off as a one-shot where the brothers learn Milly is pregnant but it ended being a lot longer than I originally thought. I know I'm not super active on this website, but I really do appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this story. So once again, thank you.**


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